


Talking About Him

by RobotSquid



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Abandonment Issues, Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:01:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21607996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobotSquid/pseuds/RobotSquid
Summary: Kray was a bad person, a liar, a a bigot, a destructive man.  But he'd meant something to Galo all the same.  Just hearing his name brings up the grief again, and Lio is there to catch him.
Relationships: Kray Foresight & Galo Thymos, Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 10
Kudos: 342





	Talking About Him

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for my good friend Echo as part of an art trade! I know that things are still hard some days but we all love you so much. Sorry this took me so long to write, and I hope you like it! <333

Even though the Promare are gone and the Burnish are no different than ordinary humans now, things still catch fire.

Neither Galo nor any of the rest of Burning Rescue had to worry about being out of a job, though it was an easier job these days. Compared to Burnish flames, regular fire was hardly an effort. Still, it wasn’t hard to stay busy.

Staying busy was what Galo spent most of his time on. There was plenty to do in the aftermath of the Parnassus’ destruction, and Galo threw himself into every part of it that he could touch. If he wasn’t out on a call, he was cleaning the firehouse, checking up on the neighborhood, breaking up the odd fistfight here and there on the streets. 

But strange as it was, Galo hadn’t felt this energized in a long time. He could think of a few reasons why—chief among them, Lio. Galo had been trying to convince him to come work at Burning Rescue with him, but so far Lio wasn’t persuaded. Lio spent all his time talking to government officials, trying to change laws, put protections in place, undo what harm he could. Despite the disappearance of the Burnish’s flames, people still needed someone to blame. The same old scapegoat was as good as any other, no matter what else had changed. Resentment still lingered long past the point of reason. Galo complained about not having more time with him, but at least he’d gotten Lio to move in with him.

It all settled into a familiar routine. Things weren’t perfect, but they were getting better, and soon it would all be normal. Galo was looking forward to getting home tonight; it had been a pretty good day and he wanted to tell Lio all about it. He’d helped rescue a family from a collapsed building perfectly unscathed, he’d helped Lucia put the finishing touches on some of her new “toys”, and he’d even gotten a kitten down out of a tree. He laughed to himself as he shut his locker door. Lio would never believe that last one.

The TV was blaring as he walked through the common area towards the door. Aina had already come in to swap shifts with him, and she was deeply engaged in whatever phone conversation she was having to notice Galo as he strode up to her. Galo figured she was probably talking to her sister; they’d been pretty much inseparable for weeks. Strange what facing an apocalypse together could do for relationships.

“Is that Heris?” Galo asked, pushing his face next to Aina’s. She shoved the flat of her palm into his face and pushed him away. “ _Hi, Heris!_ ”

“Will you shut up?” Aina growled. Galo could hear Heris chuckling through the phone. Aina sighed and turned away. “Yeah, it _is_ Galo, he’s just being obnoxious.”

“Aina, you promised you’d come visit us soon,” Galo said, continuing to lean into her personal space.

Aina whirled around and widened her eyes at him with an expression that said _are you seriously doing this right now?_ Galo laughed and ducked away from the half-hearted punch she swung at him.

Having had his fun for now, Galo dug out his own phone to text Lio that he was on his way home. His message history with Lio was a wall of short consecutive texts from Galo punctuated with the occasional “ok” response from Lio. Aina busted him all the time for saying in five texts what he could have easily said in one, but for some reason Lio never minded. Or at least never _said_ that he minded. For now, Galo simply said: _coming home. u want anything?_

A few seconds later, the reply: _No, I’m good. See you soon._

Galo’s fingers hovered over the keyboard, debating, as he always did, whether to say the words that had been jumbling around in his head for months. Sometimes he typed it out, stared at it, and backspaced without ever hitting send. It still felt too weird. So he wrote nothing, and put his phone in his pocket.

Then he heard it.

“Too bad about Kray, huh?”

The TV in the room was playing the news, on which the reporter was interviewing yet another “expert” discussing the economic and social impact of the past few months on the city. Galo couldn’t count how many there had been, could barely stand how predictable the news cycle was these days.

He hated most of all how they talked about Kray.

The man was in jail now, and would likely never see the light of day again. Every time Galo thought of it, he was seized with an overwhelming urge to cry.

He stared at the television, the words drifting in and out of his ears, some of them sticking, some of them dissolving into thin air. They were showing old footage of Kray, including some from the day he’d awarded the medal to Galo. In every picture, every video, Kray was smiling. Nothing about him looked like an evil or vicious man.

“Galo?” came Aina’s voice, sounding like it was the fourth or fifth time she’d said it.

“Hm? What?” Galo asked.

Aina was frowning. “You okay? I know the news isn’t _that_ interesting.”

“It’s…it’s not,” Galo replied, feeling like the life had drained out of him. Aina must have noticed something, because her expression changed to one of slight concern.

“I gotta go home,” Galo said before she could say anything. Maybe she spoke to him as he left; he didn’t know. He just wanted to be away from the television, away from any mention of Kray, away from his face, his voice, the familiar sound of his laugh. He needed to be away from the memory.

Galo could take the bus and be home in five minutes, or walk and be home in twenty. He walked only because somehow, the street seemed quieter. If he was near other people, he might hear them talking. He might hear _his_ name. Might hear the speculations, might see the shaking heads, might have to bear it as people talked about how of course they always knew something was off.

They didn’t know anything.

Galo didn’t know anything.

Kray’s face stared at him from the newspaper stand across the way from their apartment.

Galo tried to open the front door, but it was locked. He sighed and dug into his jacket pocket for the key. He’d never locked his door before Lio moved in. Lio had a need to control his space—their space—and make it as safe and secure as he could. Also, regardless of Lio’s background, it _was_ kind of odd that Galo barely carried a house key. It was the first thing that always reminded Galo that things were different, in a good way. In a really, really good way.

He sighed out some of the tension and stepped inside.

“I’m home,” Galo called. That was another new thing. If Galo didn’t announce himself immediately, Lio usually freaked out, thinking the house had been broken into.

“You’re late,” Lio replied from the kitchen. There was a scent of something rich and spicy wafting into the room, instantly setting Galo’s stomach to rumbling. Lio’s attempts to teach himself to cook were getting better all the time, and Galo reaped the benefits.

“Sorry,” said Galo, dumping his things onto the couch. He made his way into the kitchen and sidled up behind Lio, wrapping his arms around him in a massive hug. Lio grumbled but allowed it as he continued to stir whatever was in the pot.

“Whatcha making?” Galo asked, resting his chin atop Lio’s head.

“Nothing special,” Lio replied. “Just a soup.” He paused. “You want to taste it?”

“Yes!” Galo exclaimed, leaning over and opening his mouth wide. Lio raised the spoon to Galo’s lips and let him have a taste.

“Aaaaah, it’s so good!” Galo yelled. He squeezed Lio and Lio grunted at the sudden force of it, but Galo could tell he was smiling. Galo kissed the top of Lio’s head. His scalp was warm and smelled like Galo’s own shampoo.

For a little while, Galo forgot the newscast, forgot the guilt and the regret weighing down on him. He helped Lio with the rest of dinner, set out their bowls (the ones they’d bought together just last week), and sat down to eat. He used to eat in front of the TV when he was single, which Lio didn’t necessarily mind, but he did insist that they eat at their dining table at least once a week.

They were on the couch tonight, however. Galo switched on the TV without thinking, and it was an instant mistake.

The newsreel was repeating, and the words came again.

“Too bad about Kray, huh?”

Galo dropped the remote, which went clattering into the hot bowl of soup, splashing out and onto the floor, taking his spoon with it.

Lio jumped, hand out towards the source of the sudden sound. “Geez, Galo,” he huffed. “What’s your problem?”

The tears came with no warning. No telltale lump in the throat, no burning in his eyes, only a sudden and immediate release. They dripped down over his cheeks, fat and warm, into the remains of his dinner.

“Shit…” Galo wailed softly, covering his eyes with one hand. This was a disaster. It was bad enough without Lio having to see him like this.

“Hey,” he heard Lio say. He heard him scoot closer on the sofa, his small frame radiating familiar heat. “What’s…what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Galo lied. “Just….” He trailed off. Lio said nothing. For a long, long time he sat there, fighting a losing battle with his tears, until finally he relented and let out a deep sob.

“He meant so much to me,” Galo said miserably.

“Who, Kray?” asked Lio. His voice was soft. Lio’s voice could be so gentle sometimes. It soothed Galo better than any sound in the world.

“I just…I don’t understand what I did wrong.”

Galo heard Lio’s sharp intake of breath, and then two small, warm hands were on his shoulder. “Don’t say that,” he said firmly but without reproach. “It’s not about anything you did.”

“It has to be,” Galo retorted, looking up from his hand and staring Lio in the face. The anger in Lio’s expression took him aback, but he kept on: “Maybe if I’d…I don’t know, been better? More like how he wanted…?”

“What he _wanted_ ,” Lio said lowly, “was to hurt people. You….” Lio paused and swallowed. “You’re better than what he wanted.”

Galo’s face flushed, but he was certain Lio couldn’t see it behind all the tearful red that was covering his cheeks. It still made his heart flutter when Lio said things like that.

“I don’t know,” he groaned, slumping back onto the couch. Lio sidled up closer. Lio’s body was still so warm, even after the Promare had left him. There was nothing better than when Lio wrapped himself around Galo, clinging tightly like a fiery little koala, and pressed their bodies together like they could become one again. Galo sat waiting, hoping that Lio was going to embrace him now, but he seemed to be holding back for no known reason.

“Listen,” Lio said after a beat of silence. “I know you think he had something good in him. I know you admired that. But…the truth is he was a liar. He….” Lio paused, and Galo glanced down to see him clenching his hands into fists. “He only ever wanted to hurt people to keep _himself_ on top. Including you. Someone who trusted him.”

Galo opened his mouth to respond, but Lio let out a frustrated shout and slammed his fist on the back of the couch. “And you know, that’s what pisses me off the most!” he yelled. “The fact that he made you think…he’s….”

Galo could almost see the sparks flying from Lio’s eyes, ghosts of his flame still jumping out in his every gesture and expression. Lio reached out and took Galo’s face in between his hands, skin so hot it sent Galo’s blood racing. Lio’s intense eyes bored into him, and despite everything, Galo’s heart skipped a beat.

“I’ve always hated that son of a bitch. I can’t forgive anything he’s done. On top of everything he did to me and the other Burnish, he had to go and make you feel like this. You….” Lio blushed suddenly and averted his eyes. “You’re not the type of person who should be sad,” he mumbled. “It isn’t right.”

Galo let out a little laugh. “I get sad all the time, Lio,” he joked. “You’ve seen it.”

“I know, but…what I mean is…you deserve better.”

There was something in Lio’s eyes that Galo couldn’t read. It was always easy for him to read Lio’s emotions, even when everyone else thought he was just being cold or aloof. For Galo, Lio’s every feeling was on such bright display he wondered how no one else could see it as clearly as him.

But he’d never seen Lio look like this. He was blushing still, the red growing deeper and spreading further, and there was something like frustration and resignation, confusion and fear, other nameless things in his eyes.

“It’ll be hard to hear his name for a while, I know,” Lio said. “But it’ll get easier. And if…if you want to talk about him, or if you don’t…I’m right here.”

Galo burst into huge, ugly, loud tears, eliciting a look of shock and horror from Lio.

“Shit, was it something I said!?” Lio exclaimed, looking mortified.

Galo shook his head pathetically. He reached out and tugged Lio to him, squeezing him as tightly as he dared, crying uselessly into his shoulder.

Lio hugged him back with some trepidation, like he was afraid he’d caused this outburst somehow.

“Sorry,” Galo said eventually, voice muffled against Lio’s body. “I just…Lio, you’re so….” _So kind. So sweet. So good to me. I think I love you. I know I love you._

He didn’t deserve Lio’s kindness, or his softness, or any of the tenderness hidden beneath him. Not when Galo had once idolized the man that hurt him in the first place. But Galo was selfish, and he wanted it anyway. He wanted to soak it in, bask in it and let it consume him like the flames they’d unleashed across the entire Earth. He wanted to feel Lio’s flame in his mouth, his chest, across his skin just like before.

_Can you forgive me for missing him? For wishing things were different?_

They were silent for a long time, or at least as silent as they could be as Galo sniffled and cried off and on. The longer he went on, the more ashamed he felt. But through it all, Lio never left. He didn’t get up and leave him, he didn’t tell him to get over himself—didn’t say anything at all, really—and he held on to him without loosening his grip even a little.

And slowly, Galo began to relax. The strain, for now, began to ease, cleansed by Lio’s warmth. Galo tightened his embrace, then sat up and looked Lio in the eyes. To Galo’s surprise, Lio was smiling.

“Feel better?” Lio asked, his face as bright as the sun.

Galo couldn’t help but smile back when confronted with a look like that. “Yeah,” he admitted, hastily wiping the remaining tears from his eyes. “…Thanks.”

Lio leaned over and pressed a tiny kiss on Galo’s cheek. Galo put his hand on the back on Lio’s head and gently turned it, pressing their lips together. He could feel Lio smiling.

It was a soft, almost lazy kiss at first, but after the first taste of him Galo suddenly craved Lio with a sharp hunger. He leaned in closer, tightened his grip just so, and pushed himself as close to Lio as he could get. Lio pressed back, slackening his lips to let Galo’s tongue inside. One hand went over Galo’s shoulder, gripping and pulling the fabric of his T-shirt with a small, fiercely clenched fist.

It didn’t take long for Lio to end up on top of him, Galo leaning back against the arm of the couch as Lio’s tiny body staked its claim on his. Everything about Lio’s touch still had a hunger to it, like he was afraid if he didn’t take as much as he could now, there’d be nothing left later. But it was just his way, his possessiveness, and Galo didn’t mind. In fact, there was something about how Lio made himself seem so much bigger than he physically was that frankly turned Galo’s insides to a pliable mush.

They didn’t talk. They just kissed, over and over, deeper and deeper, just skirting the edge of a line Galo knew there’d be no coming back from if they crossed it. They hadn’t exactly… _done_ anything yet, but it would be the biggest lie to say that it didn’t cross Galo’s mind almost once a day, that Lio didn’t sometimes stand or gesture or even speak in certain ways that made Galo feel like he had the untrustworthy body of a teenager again. In any case, that wasn’t a conversation Galo was emotionally prepared for tonight. Having a breakdown in front of Lio was about all he could handle for one day.

Eventually, they eased up, and Lio laid his head down on Galo’s chest, sighing.

“I guess I better get you some more soup,” Lio murmured, glancing at the mess on the coffee table.

“It’s probably cold now.” Galo laid one hand on the small curve of Lio’s back and rubbed gently.

“Well, that’s the great thing about a stove,” Lio replied with a cutting glance. “You can turn it back on and make things hot again.”

“I don’t know, stoves can be pretty unsafe. As a licensed firefighter I’d say it’s better to be safe than sorry and you should stay here and cuddle with me.”

Lio laughed and dropped his forehead on Galo’s chest. Galo wondered if Lio could hear how fast his heart was beating.

“I love you, you’re so stupid,” Lio laughed.

Galo was absolutely certain that Lio must have heard his heart _stop_ beating then.

“…What?” he asked, skin prickling with anxious anticipation.

“I said you’re stupid, and I love you anyway.” Lio pressed one finger deep into Galo’s forehead.

“Uh….” _Holy shit, he said it. He really said it. I think he means it…he wouldn’t just throw something like that around, would he?_

“I…” Galo began, then threw his arms around Lio and hugged him with such fierceness that Lio was suddenly swearing and yelling.

“Galo, that’s too fucking tight!” Lio shouted.

“I love you too!” Galo replied with a laugh. He couldn’t imagine why it had ever been hard or scary or strange to say. It just made sense. After a night of confusion, here was finally some clarity.

After Lio’s flailing became too hard to contain, Galo loosened his grip and took Lio’s pouting face in his hands. “You really mean it?” he asked.

“What?” Lio asked, his cheeks darkening to a deep red as he scowled.

“You really do love me?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?”

Maybe to someone else, the casualness with which Lio said it would have put them off. But to Galo it was just…Lio had said it like it was a fact. Something that would never change. Something obvious and unshakeable.

Someone loved him. Lio loved him. And he’d said it so easily.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t you?” Galo repeated, flashing his smuggest grin. It was halfway fake, but Lio didn’t need to know that.

Lio rolled his eyes and extricated himself from Galo’s grip. “Right,” he said, heading back towards the kitchen. “Bring our stuff back in, I’ll heat it back up.”

Galo sat up and grabbed their bowls of cold soup from the table. He carried them back into the kitchen and gave them to Lio, letting him reheat the remains and salvage their dinner.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you all thought! You can also come scream at me on my twitter @frozencalamari !


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